A helpline for grieving Aussies has been told it will be able to continue to operate after the government pledged to continue funding it.
As reported by 9news.com.au, after 37 years, the Griefline helpline announced it would stop taking calls from March 18, despite demand rising over 100 per cent in the last financial year.
Phone line volunteers help with all kinds of grief, including the loss of a loved one, a miscarriage, break-ups, pet loss, or loss of a home or livelihood.
The organisation said it had been has been funded by the federal Department of Health and Aged Care since 2020.
But said it had been “unable to secure Commonwealth funding” and would have to close.
It warned the cut would “leave a significant gap in Australia’s mental health support system”.
Late last week, the organisation was told by government that cash would continue.
“We are still waiting for information on the amount of funding that will be allocated to Griefline, and when that funding will be received,” Griefline’s CEO, Kate Cahill Chief Executive Officer told 9News.
Sarah Malone, 50, who lost her husband last February, uses the service.
Her husband, Dr Norman Walsh, 67, a father of four and GP from Maroubra, died after an accident which saw him fall off the back of a boat in a boat yard onto concrete.
Malone told 9news.com.au she was unsure anyone would want to listen to what happened, but the funeral celebrant urged her to give it a go.
“She said trust me, they’re really okay,” she said.
Malone estimates she has now phoned volunteers at Griefline around 10 times after the devastating loss of her husband, who had a practice in Sydney’s Annandale and also worked in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
She dubbed the service “selfless, compassionate and humane”.
“Someone said to me, ‘That happened to me, I’ve survived, you will too’,” she said.
“Just saying to someone, ‘I hear you’, when someone is at that hideous point, think how many suicides were prevented.”
Health Minister Mark Butler said an independently assessed, “open and competitive grant opportunity” for digital mental health services worth $135m was launched in 2023.
“I understand that organisations that weren’t successful in that grant round were notified by the department over the last few weeks,” Butler said.
“These organisations do really important work and we want to make sure that they can have certainty to continue with their programs.
“That’s why our government is ensuring if you were an existing digital mental health service under this funding your funding will continue.”
Griefline also has online services and support groups.
It’s one of only a dozen digital mental health services in Australia to have achieved accreditation under the National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health Standards, it said.
Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue on 1300 22 4636. Griefline 1300 845 745. Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467. MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78.
